


Facets

by androidkisser



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 17:59:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11879823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androidkisser/pseuds/androidkisser
Summary: Cute momgirlfriend and her cute sonboyfriend have a fun time at the funfair together.





	Facets

**Author's Note:**

> I... I love this pairing more than anything else in life...  
> So, I hear that Waltzers aren't too common outside of the UK, but they do exist in other places! They're basically like, a seat that spins in place while it also goes around a track in circles, and it spins a lot, and people spin the seat while the track goes faster... it's really fun, and pretty intense!
> 
> Please leave a comment if you liked it, I hope I'm not the only one that appreciates their dynamic ;_;  
> (I really love the idea of 21O letting go of her inhibitions and just having a good time, don't you?!)

“Please, try not to rush ahead, 9S...”

“I just wanted to see the –”

“Well, we can see it all together, can't we?” asked the woman, extending her hand towards him.

He turned around to walk back towards her, almost reluctantly at first, before a huge grin spread across his face, upon seeing the gentle smile on hers.

“Yeah, we can,” he said, softly, snaking his fingers between her own.

They were a mismatched pair, truthfully; her ruffled, long-sleeved baby-blue blouse, tight jeans and high heels jarred horribly with his bright green vest and shorts, along with oversized shoes that looked at least four sizes too big for him.

“Man, it's gonna suck that you don't have a change of shoes...” 9S said, looking down at the uneven ground. The funfair was being held on an open, grassy area on the outskirts of town, though they had hoped there'd at least be some kind of a path to stick to. “If you didn't come to pick me up straight from work...”

“I'm sure it will be fine,” she replied, testing her footing once she stepped away from the parking lot.

“We can go back home if you want, get you a change of –”

“I appreciate your concern, 9S, but really, it's unnecessary,” 21O said, squeezing his hand firmly to reinforce her point. “Was there anywhere in particular you wanted to see first?”

His expression quickly shifted from one of worry to one of excitement. “The leaflet said there's gonna be a foreign food market somewhere... that way,” he said, gesturing vaguely over to the right. “All the rides are that way, but I dunno where to head for first...”

“May I suggest the rather more exhausting options first, before you fill your stomach to bursting point? You know your motion sensors are more sensitive than most...”

“That's... not a bad idea, actually,” he said, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. She always knew the best course of action, no matter the occasion, or problem. It was beyond reassuring, and it was why he loved her. “I take it you're not gonna join me on that one, though?”

He pointed to the biggest roller-coaster on site, a towering red monstrosity that made the very ground they walked on rumble beneath them. They could even hear the screams from where they stood, just inside the entrance, as the attendants took their tickets from them and fastened armbands to their wrists.

“Correct,” she said with a smile, “I plan to stay on the ground and immortalise your expression of fear.”

21O brandished her little camera at him, making him twist his face into a half-pout.

“I'm not scared,” he said, defiantly. “I'm gonna ride it, and I'm gonna keep a straight face the whole time.”

“That is what you said last time,” replied 21O, her smile and tone growing more teasing by the second. “Should I have that photograph framed, to remind you more often?”

“Hey, c'mon, that one was _huge_...”

“That it was,” 21O said, thinking back to the screams as he hurtled past her, “but that does not change the fact that –”

“Jeez, okay, _fine,_ but this one? Totally different,” he said, verbally scrambling to gather together some of his shattered pride.

“I'm sure,” she said, her doubt and disbelief palpable. “Well, perhaps you could build up to it, either way.”

He nodded in affirmation, and they began to walk at a leisurely pace between the rows upon rows of stalls – the noise of the crowd eventually drowned out any small talk they planned on sharing, and so they communicated mostly through gestures, smiles, and touches. The smells of the food market drifting over tempted them both, though they knew better – for now, at least.

9S's eyes lit up when he caught sight of some of the prizes available from the larger attractions – giant stuffed tigers, almost bigger than him, huge inflatable mallets, and curiously, replica military-issue combat swords. He was more than a little glad that the pair of them could blend in so easily, if their victories were still so fresh in everyone's minds. This was _their_ day, after all.

“What about that one?” asked 9S, leaning in close to her to be heard. He was pointing in the direction of the waltzer. Dry ice billowed from the open entrance, and the music pounded relentlessly.

“Well, I certainly don't intend to let you ride _everything_ alone today,” she said, feigning a sigh and dragging him lightly over to the entrance booth to have their wristbands scanned.

21O sat down on his left – they had a car to themselves, thankfully. 9S would have been loathe to see anyone but him pressed against her, involuntary or not.

The ride started slowly but surely, and 9S played up to the situation by neglecting the handrail in favour of raising both of his hands above his head, waving them to and fro, prompting 21O to roll her eyes at him. He responded by sticking his tongue out at her, childishly.

As the pace quickened, he found it harder to hold his hands aloft, but he endeavoured to keep it up for as long as possible – even as the ride operators walked past him to spin the car. He looked to his left, and saw 21O clinging to the guard rail in the middle, her knuckles practically turning white from gripping it so tightly.

“ _ **Doing okay?!**_ _”_ 9S shouted over to her – though 'over' was merely inches away, the music really was beyond any sensible volume.

She didn't quite respond; she turned to him with a mix of a pained, and a terrified expression. He laughed, hard, letting one of his hands fall to his side to wrap around her and hold her tightly. He was thankful for the clockwise rotation of the cars – it only served to push her further against him.

Her fear didn't stop him from making a taunting gesture with his remaining free hand at the man in charge of patrolling the undulating track, looking for victims; nor did it stop the ride itself from kicking up a notch against either of their wills.

 _“_ _ **Don't you dare!**_ _”_ howled 21O, feebly attempting to reach across him to grab his arm, in a vain attempt to prevent him from causing any trouble.

It was entirely futile, of course – she was far too late to catch him. Those two events blended together simultaneously, creating the perfect storm of nausea inducing whirling and twisting. 21O positively _screamed_ as the force pushed her back into the seat, but also against him. He gave up on his attempts to hold his hand up in the air, despite the voice over the speaker's insistent instructions to do exactly the opposite, and held her tightly. He laughed all the while – his motion sensors were more sensitive than most, that was true, but right now, it only served to make the experience all the more intense.

21O looked up at him, and for a second, he almost felt guilty for having such a good time – her face was frozen in a countenance of pure terror. That second passed quickly, as she saw his beaming face, and felt his laughs resonating through her body as she clung to him. Her own laughing and renewed screams added to his own soon enough, and she even attempted – rather bravely, 9S thought – to sit up and wave one of her own arms in the air, before the force overwhelmed her, and her face ended up in his chest once more.

As they came to a halt, and staggered off the ring together, 9S felt a hand land firmly on his shoulder.

“We only went easy on ya because your dear mother 'ere looked like she was gonna pass out, ya know!” barked the ride attendant, condescendingly. 9S offered a weak, forced smile in return, mixed with a little annoyance.

“She's my girlf–” he began, before 21O pulled him away, her face flushed pink with a very _not_ forced smile on her face.

“Let him believe what he wishes,” she said, laughing. Her hair was decidedly dishevelled after that experience, though she definitely didn't seem to mind. “Besides, you're already more than aware that that particular error would not bother me one bit.”

“Man, do they think your model looks... I dunno, old for a human, or something?”

“More likely, it's that your dress sense is that of a human ten year old,” said 21O, a fresh round of laughter leaving her lips. “That, and... you are rather on the short side. Your face is a little young looking, too.”

“I – you're wearing – I mean, my face is – oh, whatever,” he settled, taking her hand again, though a small, genuine smile had wormed its way across his features.

They enjoyed some less vigorous rides together, and he attempted some of the sideshow games – failing spectacularly – before they stood in front of the red steel colossus at last. The carriages thundered past them as they approached.

“I'm really gonna do it, this time,” 9S said, after taking in a deep breath, his bravado at an all-time high. “Just you wait and see!”

21O didn't even have a chance to wave him off; he was already excitedly sprinting his way up the ramp, even before he had finished last sentence. She sighed, softly shaking her head as his slight form disappeared from view entirely.

 

**

 

As he ran back down the exit ramp, albeit with incredibly shaky legs, fully prepared to rub it in 21O's face that he did, in fact, manage to not look ridiculous this time, he looked disappointed to see that she wasn't where he left her. Wasn't she supposed to take his picture? She was waiting for a chance to humiliate him anyway, wasn't she?

Pouting, he went to stand on that spot, figuring she had gone to fix her hair, or something along those lines. He was further irritated by someone pushing their stupid, oversized tiger plush into his body from behind. He tried not to pay attention to it, assuming they simply didn't realise how large it was, but after a minute of continuous gentle shoving, his patience was wearing thin.

“Hey, do you mind? There's plenty of room,” he said, gesturing to the metres of open space around them. The final straw came when the stranger pushed it straight into his face; frowning, he pushed the plush to one side, to reveal 21O's smug face.

“Hello,” she said, rocking the tiger back and forth in front of him.

“You could've _said_ something,” he huffed. “How'd you even get that? You told me those things were rigged!”

“Well, _one_ of us spent all of her downtime researching human culture,” 21O said, grinning down at him. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” 9S said, before adding, “but you totally missed out on a great photo op...”

“Missed out? You _are_ permitted to ride again, you know,” 21O laughed, looking a little bemused. “Be sure to make a good face, I'm framing this one regardless.”

“You bet!”

 

**

 

As the sun began to set in the sky, and the air became cooler, they decided to make their way towards the food market at last. Though neither of them _needed_ to eat, it was a treat for their sensors to experience new kinds of human food – doubly so for 21O, who despite years living among humans now, was still more than eager to get her hands (or tongue) on new data.

The smells truly were incredible – there was of course the traditional funfair fare, but there were also rice dishes with fish, spicy curries, various fried foods – and the tastes were equally as wonderful.

They took away a couple of plates of the curries with them, and as they walked, it became apparent that 9S was absent-mindedly walking back in the direction of the parking lot.

“Where are you going?” called 21O, softly.

“Oh, sorry, uh... I mean, aren't we done?”

“You don't want to watch the sunset? It's rather hard to do so from the car.”

“Oh, no, sure,” said 9S, quickly. “Got a spot in mind?”

“The perfect one, actually,” said 21O with a smile.

Together, they slowly walked over to the huge Ferris wheel that towered above even the roller-coaster, and his face shone with realisation and joy.

“We never did get to go on one of these, did we?”

“It'll be a first for the both of us,” replied 21O, between mouthfuls of curry.

Somehow, they managed to cram both themselves and the leviathan plush into one of the cars without being reprimanded by the staff, and soon, they were being lifted slowly into the air.

“Wow,” breathed 9S, pressed up against the bars, feeling the evening breeze against his face and ruffle his hair. “You can see the whole fair from here!”

21O smiled at the back of his head. He really was just a little ball of curiosity and childlike glee. She extended her hand, and let her fingertips trace gentle little lines across his neck; he happily tilted his head backwards into her hands, far enough to look her in the eyes at an odd angle.

“Today was really great,” he said, eyes shining with happiness. “I'm... really thankful for you, y'know.”

“It was,” she whispered. “And the feeling is mutual, 9S.”

She winced for a second as she slipped off her heels for a brief moment of reprieve – as much as she willed it, she couldn't quite ignore the pain of walking on unsteady, muddy ground for hours on end.

Wordlessly, 9S smiled at her, before he lifted her legs up from the calves, and placed her feet in his lap. It took a second for her to register his intentions, but she turned that same shade of pink as earlier when he began to gently massage her arches.

“We really should've taken more breaks for you, y'know...”

She looked away for a second – she was unsure of why, but his concern made her feel very self-conscious.

“Well, we'll be home soon anyway, but when we are, I'm running you a bath, alright?”

 _You and baths,_ 21O thought to herself. The boy truly was obsessed. Despite that, she always felt... a little more relaxed when he took the lead – as much as she enjoyed nurturing his curiosity and playfulness, she enjoyed it a lot more when he was serious, and showed his caring side. It was nice to take a break from the expectations of everyone they met; in a way, she felt that she had to live up to his and everyone else's view of her, based on how she acted, but he always shattered those expectations to pieces when he revealed this facet of himself.

“Thank you,” was all she managed to say, still somewhat lost in thought, watching his face carefully.

“Don't mention it,” he said with a gentle smile, though he still looked concerned. “Want me to read to you later?”

_Isn't that... my job?_

“I... would love that,” she replied, with only a second's hesitation.

_No, he loves to read to me, too._

“Alright,” he said, continuing to do his best to work away her aches. “I'll pick out something nice, promise.”

_I'll look forward to being taken care of tonight, I think._

She said nothing, but she didn't really need to; their eyes never broke away from the others'. He switched seats to sit next to her when their little cabin reached the apex of the circle and came to rest.

“Not bad timing,” he whispered, as the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon in a beautiful display of orange, gold, and blood red.

“Not bad at all,” she replied, turning to kiss him. He seemed surprised for a moment – usually it was he who initiated the affectionate acts – but then he giggled against her lips, before pressing back against her.

They didn't stop embracing, even when the sun had truly hidden itself away from them, and the air started to turn cold, rather than refreshing.

“Kinda hope they let us down soon,” 9S murmured into her shoulder. “I know we're not supposed to feel it this much, but _damn_ it's freezing.”

21O pulled him tighter, feeling his internal temperature regulators working overtime. His arms were decidedly cold to the touch.

“I'll keep you warm until then, don't worry,” breathed 21O, holding him tightly. He let his arms fall to his sides, as she wrapped hers around him and held him close. It was times like this where they felt as equals, without any sort of power dynamic – Operator and Unit, boyfriend and girlfriend, or even a perceived mother and son – that made them both the happiest, though they couldn't help slipping into some of those roles sometimes, no matter how hard they tried.

“Can't wait to get you home,” he mumbled.

“I... can't wait for you to get me home either.” Flirting – or anything relating to it, for that matter – didn't exactly come naturally to her, so she simply said what came to mind, for the most part. He seemed beyond satisfied with that.

“That's going on your side of the bed, right?” he asked, gesturing to the colossal plush.

“Of course not,” she laughed. “I won it for _you_.”

“That's low,” he replied, quietly. He sounded more than a little worn out, by now.

She kissed the top of his head softly.

“I love you, 9S,” she whispered, equally softly, words that only he would ever hear.

“Love you too,” he said, sleepily. It wasn't long until he entered an involuntary rest mode in her arms, where he was happiest.

 


End file.
